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Communiqué on the Holy and Great Council from the Ecumenical Patriarchate

An extraordinary session of the Sacred Endemousa Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate took place today under the presidency of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in order to review the progress of the Holy and Great Council to be convened by the grace of God in just a few days.

The Sacred Endemousa Synod was informed with surprise and wonder of the positions and opinions expressed recently by some sister Orthodox Churches and, after evaluating these, ascertained that no institutional framework allows for the revision of the Synodal process already under way. Therefore, it is expected that the Primates of the most holy Orthodox Churches will bring, in accordance with theOrganization and Working Procedure of the Holy and Great Council, any “proposals to amend, correct, or append the Synodal texts that were unanimously approved by the Pan-Orthodox Preconciliar Meetings and by Synaxes of the Primates pertaining to the agenda topics” (see Article 11) for final formulation and decision during the sessions of the Holy and Great Council, with the invocation and inspiration of the All-Holy Spirit.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate, which bears the first responsibility for safeguarding the unity of Orthodoxy, calls all to rise to the occasion and participate, on the pre-determined dates, in the sessions of the Holy and Great Council, as was decided and signed on a pan-Orthodox level both by the Primates during the Sacred Synaxes, as well as by those authorized by each Delegation during the entire lengthy preparatory process of the Council.

At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the sixth of June, 2016From the Chief Secretariat